Making a Difference
CORNELIUS, N.C. — Before heading to the famed yard of bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his No. 15 RK Motors Toyota, where Clint Bowyer has two top-five and two top-10 finishes in eight starts, the Emporia, Kan., native made a stop in his hometown.
On Saturday, Bowyer hosted the seventh annual “Clint Bowyer ‘s Support Emporia 2014 Charity Event.” The event, which included a golf tournament and auction, raised a little more than $350,000 for the fourth consecutive year.
Proceeds from the event go toward the “79 Fund,” a fund established by Bowyer for the Emporia Community Foundation. Proceeds from previous events have helped fund the construction of the Bowyer Community Building and various other youth-related initiatives throughout the community, including a scholarship at the Flint Hills Technical College.
Talk about your work in your hometown:
“It is always such a great event. Everyone at the Emporia Community Foundation and the 79 Fund do such a great job. They do all the hard work. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do in our community. This is my hometown and it’s nice to see that we are able to make a difference for people here. Plus, I love coming home. It’s like a vacation for me.”
What does it mean to race at Indianapolis?
“The history is what you go there for. That place is just so rich and deep in history that you’re ecstatic every time you roll into the place. It’s like, ‘Holy cow, this is Indy.’ A lot of big names and a lot of exposure has always been on the place. It doesn’t matter what you race or how you came up, you’re very fond and very aware of Indianapolis and what that track means to auto racing. It really is cool to be able to race on that race track, but aside from that it’s so hard to get around.”
Which takes longer to prepare for, Daytona or Indianapolis?
I would say Daytona, but it’s not really comparing apples to apples because it’s a restrictor plate track and there are so many things that equate to speed at Daytona and cornering is not one of them. Here, yes, those straghtaways are long, but you gotta be able to get off of them corners. You gotta get off of (turns) two and four and set yourself up for that long straightaway because that’s where all your momentum starts is right there through the center of those two very important corners of this track, whereas Daytona you go down there and you’re working on shaping that bullet as slick as possible and making it fast.
NO. 15 CREW ROSTER
Brian Pattie
Crew Chief
Brandon Hopkins
Front Tire Changer
Richard Coleman
Front Tire Carrier
Lee Cunningham
Rear Tire Changer
PJ Briody
Rear Tire Carrier
Brian Chase
Jack Man
Evan Marchal
Gas Man
Billy Curwood
Car Chief
Chris Sherwood
Interior Mechanic
Brett Griffin
Spotter
Dax Gerringer
Race Engineer
Tim O’Brien
2nd Engineer
Adam Cooke
Shock Specialist
J.D. Frey
Front Mechanic
Travis Stock
Rear Mechanic
Andrew Beason
Tire Specialist
Gregg Huls
Engine Tuner
Chris Valverde
Engine Engineer
Ray Erwin
Truck Driver
Jeff Shano
2nd Truck Driver
CHASSIS
Chassis No. 814 serves as the primary chassis for Bowyer at Indianapolis. This chassis has never seen race action. Chassis No. 804 serves as the back-up chassis and finished 12th at Darlington and 15th at Bristol earlier this year.
INDIANAPOLIS STATS
· Two top-five and two top-10 finishes in 8 starts
· Completed 1,280 of 1,280 laps (100%) and has led 3 laps
· Average start 20.0 and average finish 13.2
· No DNFs (did not finish)
· Sprint Cup’s 11th best driver rating (84.6 out of 150)
· Sprint Cup’s 10th best in average running positon-14.8
· Sprint Cup’s 10th most green-flag passes– 487
NOTES
· RK Motors is one of the most innovative collector car retailers in the U.S. Their state-of-the-art, 60,000 sq. ft. showroom has become a destination for serious collectors from all over the world. They have restored some of the most legendary cars to ever prowl the pavement and those cars have gone on to collect trophies at some of the largest car shows in the country. Leading the industry with their consignment and sales program and the RKM Performance Center, their core mission is to make buying, selling, maintaining, or building your dream car as simple as possible. www.rkmotorscharlotte.com
